ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Saint Louis University has reportedly moved on from longtime coach Travis Ford after the team's second-round loss in the Atlantic 10 Tournament to the Duquesne Dukes.
Multiple sources, including FOX 2 Sports Director Martin Kilcoyne, reported the news moments after the Billikens lost to the Dukes at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
“For eight years, Travis led our men’s basketball program with passion and dignity,” SLU Director of Athletics Chris May said. “This decision was not made lightly."
Ford joined the Billikens program in March 2016 after eight seasons with Oklahoma State Cowboys, where he took the Cowboys to five NCAA Tournaments.
“It is our expectation to regularly compete for conference championships and play in the NCAA Tournament,” May said. “Unfortunately, we have not met these expectations the last several years. We thank Travis for his dedication to SLU and wish him the best in the future.”
Like his tenure in Stillwater, Ford spent eight years with the Billikens. While he was able to achieve four 20-win seasons with the Billikens, he could only manage one NCAA Tournament appearance, a miraculous Atlantic 10 Tournament conference victory in 2019, beating St. Bonaventure 55-53 in the championship game after playing four games in four days. However, the Billikens would fall to Virginia Tech in the tournament that year.
Ford would be unable to guide the Billikens back to the tournament, but would appear in two NIT tournaments in 2021 and 2022. SLU has not made the postseason the last two years. This season, SLU finished 13-20 overall and 5-13 in the A-10.